Chronicles of Atonement
by DarkenedFantasy
Summary: As the newest generation of the Tipa caravan sets out upon their journey, they find themselves haunted by strange dreams. With each drop of myrrh they collect, they are given maddening flashes of lost memories. Is the life they have known truly their own?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: ** I claim no ownership of the characters, places, or anything related to Final Fantasy VII and Crystal Chronicles. All copyrights belong to their respective copyright owners.

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Prologue

He was running. Though what pursued him, and why, he couldn't recall. He was so close, so close, he couldn't lose it now. He felt poison burning through his veins, numbing and sharpening with the beating of his heart. But above all, he felt the overwhelming sense of loss. His best friend, the only friend he'd ever really known aside from her, was dead.

He knew not how much time had passed: only that his strength was failing him. Surrounded by decrepit trains, he felt his legs collapse beneath him. He caught sight of his reflection on the metal of one of the trains. His deep blue eyes now burned at the center with an eerie green light. Green… like him… his eyes… the monster who had cost him everything he knew and loved…

But how had he come to be like this? How had he become such a stranger in his own body?

A single name managed to reach his mind with a final surge of hatred before he drifted out of consciousness.

_Sephiroth…_

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Okay. This is a very interesting idea to me. See, I've always loved Crystal Chronicles, as well as more mainstream Final Fantasies like VII. So, since there are so few crossover works, I've decided to write one of my own. You will see the premise behind this prologue in a little while, so just bear with me, okay? The first update is coming out soon. I just need to get it typed up.


	2. Setting Out

If you wish to see legal information, direct your eyes to the first chapter. I see no need to type it over and over again.

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Chapter One- Setting Out

Cloud Strife awoke ill at ease in his bed. As he gazed around the room, he felt relieved to find the familiar comforts of his simple bedroom around him.

_Another dream of that place…_ he thought as his heartbeat gradually slowed to a normal rate in his chest.

He pulled himself slowly out of bed, and walked over to his pale green tunic, which was laying on the floor. _Why does that dream feel so familiar?_ he wondered as he pulled the tunic over his plain white sleeping shirt.

However, in a moment, all thoughts of the dream were pushed out of his head as he remembered what day it was: The first day the new Tipa caravan was to set out. He had waited for years to join the caravan, and now, the day had finally arrived for him to set out with the next generation of crystal caravanners. The dream long forgotten, he pulled on a pair of green-striped shorts, shoved his feet into his plain, brown boots, and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. He looked around for his family, but no one was there except for him. However, on the table, there was a knapsack waiting for him.

"Huh? What's this doing here?" he muttered to himself.

He opened it to look inside, and found an array of foodstuffs tantilizing his senses. He saw three plain gourd potatoes, some star carrots, three salted slabs of meat, and two bright red cherry clusters. A smile broke out on his face at the sight of the items. His parents really were looking out for him. He plucked one of the cherries from the nearest cluster, and popped one into his mouth. The fruit tasted very sweet, but had a slight bitter aftertaste. It must have been plucked from a tree grown in miasma.

"Of course you'd find the food first." a voice teased from behind him.

Cloud turned around, and found his older sister Mintie smiling warmly at him. He put the knapsack over his back, and grabbed the sword and shield resting against the wall, both emblazoned with the symbol of the Clavats. "Gotta keep my strength up. Since the town depends on me now, and all…"

Mintie nodded, her short blonde hair falling into her eyes. "Well, let's go outside. Mom, Dad, and Ramsey are waiting for you already."

Cloud nodded in acknowledgement, and stepped out into the dim morning light, where, as Mintie had stated, his parents and older brother were waiting for him.

"So, the day of your first journey with the caravan has finally arrived." Arion, his father, murmured in greeting.

"Be careful out there." Christie warned gently, her maternal instincts overwhelming her at the thought of the dangers her son would face.

"Be sure you don't get eaten by a monster out there, you knucklehead." Ramsey teased, tousling his little brother's messy blonde hair, and receiving horrified looks from his mother.

"Don't worry. I'm not going alone, and even if I were, I'd be fine." Cloud reassured them.

"Be sure to send us any items you find so we can sell them in the shop." Arion reminded.

The young Clavat nodded, his hair falling into his brown eyes. "I will. I'll see you before the year's out!"

And with that, the merchant's son left his family behind as he headed for the center of town, where the town's crystal rested. Another member of the caravan was already there, waiting for him with his arms crossed over his fur-lined, navy smock. Cloud's eyes narrowed at the sight of who it was.

_Sephiroth…_ he growled mentally, wondering how the Selkie had ever managed to worm his way into the caravan.

When they were children, Cloud's parents wanted him to avoid associating with the milers and their son, for fear that they would rob the shop blind. That suited Cloud just fine, for there was something about the silver-haired teen that just didn't sit right with him. However, if they were going to travel together, he knew he would have to at least try to put aside his inherent dislike for Sephiroth. With that in mind, he walked over to the Selkic teen, and nodded in acknowledgement. Sephiroth returned the gesture curtly, and the two waited in silence for the rest of the caravan.

The silence was broken as the door to Belgano the Alchemist's house opened, and a young Clavat, slightly older than the other two boys, stepped outside, squinting into the sunlight. Cloud knew the boy passably well- his mother was friends with Harmia, the alchemist's wife. Vincent was the boy's name. He had short, neatly groomed black hair, and his complexion was quite pale for a Clavat, but given his family's line of work, that was to be expected. He was wearing an outfit somewhat similar to Cloud's, though it was mostly in earthen brown, red, and white hues. He seemed to notice the other two, and walked over to them.

"Hello." Vincent greeted quietly.

Cloud was surprised at hearing him speak. His voice, it seemed, had already fully changed, and had a surprising depth, given his age.

"Hey." Cloud answered dully.

Sephiroth turned to see the other boy. He didn't really care one way or the other about the new arrival: As children, they had never associated all that much. However, he felt the need to be courteous, so he said, "Good to see you."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. Sephiroth didn't seem like the type to deign to speak to anyone else, unless he was ordering them around. It seemed his voice had changed as well, granting him a depth of voice that seemed suitable for command. Cloud's voice had changed as well, but lacked that same gravitas the other two possessed, making him sound utterly inexperienced by comparison, a fact that he bristled at. He was not just some kid trying to play hero, but with those two around, that was what it would seem like.

"It's hard to believe that we're getting sent out on our first caravan already." Vincent commented.

"Hmm…" was Sephiroth's only affirmative response.

"Yeah." Cloud nodded. "Pretty soon, we'll be off to see the world and collect myrrh for the village."

"Yes." a much higher voice cut in. "And we'll be glad to serve our town, right?"

Cloud smiled at the new arrival. "Hey Aerith."

The young Clavatian maid smiled, the rising sun reflecting off of her brown hair, which was pulled up in a white and red cap, whose color scheme was echoed throughout her clothing. Her green eyes sparkled looking over her fellow caravanners. She had known them all since childhood. Cloud often came over to her house when his father wanted produce to sell in the shop. Vincent was more of an enigma, but she had seen him a few times when his older brother Welsh came over to do some research on the soil her family used for farmland. As for Sephiroth, when she was a child, she was the only one who would give the Selkic lad the time of day. His family and hers often worked together in business, and she was never one to let race get in the way of a friendship.

The other two boys smiled at the girl, and greeted in unison, "Hello Aerith."

Aerith smiled. "It's good to see you all as well. But I think it's time we set off, since we're all here now."

Sephiroth nodded. "Yes. We should get moving as quickly as possible."

Cloud shot the Selkie a glare. Who said he was in charge? He sighed, and said, "Yeah. Let's go."

The four teens gathered around the papaomus and wagon, and guided it out of town, waving one last farewell to their families before leaving behind the only home they had ever known.

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Hopefully I did a good job of introducing everyone. The next chapter is where we start on the River Belle Path!


	3. New Acquaintances and Old Rivalries

All legal information is in the first chapter, as I do not wish to type it over and over again. Look there, lawyers. And please, I realize this is an odd idea, but some reviews would be much appreciated.

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Chapter Two- New Acquaintances and Old Rivalries

Cloud had taken the reins of the papaomus, and was leading it on the well-worn road to the old River Belle Path, wherein they could collect their first drop of myrrh. Vincent rode in the wagon, poring over some scrolls his father had sent with him. Aerith sat on the open back of the wagon, holding the crystal chalice and attempting to converse quietly with Sephiroth, who was walking behind the wagon. They continued as such until they got about a mile out of town, where they heard a commanding voice yell, "Hail, fellow caravanners!"

Cloud brought the caravan to a halt, and jumped down from his seat to get a better look at who had accosted them. Vincent and Aerith exchanged a glance, and clambered out of the wagon, following behind Sephiroth as he crossed to the front, where Cloud was waiting for them.

They had been hailed by a group of armor-clad, pretentious-looking Lilties, who had, presumably, hailed from Alfitaria.

"You are the caravan from Tipa, are you not?" the apparent leader asked, scanning over the group.

_Three Clavats and a Selkie. Interesting._ he thought to himself.

Cloud nodded the affirmative. "Yeah. I'm Cloud. This is Vincent. This is-"

"I'm Aerith." the lone Clavat maiden introduced softly.

"And this-" Cloud finished contemptuously, indicating the lone Selkie of the group, "is Sephiroth."

"You seem quite capable." the lead Lilty commented. "I am Sol Racht of Alfitaria. Our caravan has a history that reaches back for thousands of-" he could already see their eyes glazing over at the reminiscence. "But that's a story for another time."

Sol Racht studied Sephiroth for a minute, and asked,"Forgive me for prying, but that Selkie- Sephiroth, is it? Forgive me.- You seem very familiar. You wouldn't happen to know one Nae Li, would you?"

Sephiroth's eyes widened, silver eyebrows arching in surprise. "Yes. He was my grandfather."

_So __that's__ how you were able to get in._ Cloud thought bitterly. _You 'grandfathered' your way into the caravan._

Sol smiled behind his helmet. "Ah yes. My father once met him on a journey to the Selepation Cave. He was a master tactician. Good man. Good caravanner."

At this, Sol shot a pointed glance at Cloud. The Lilties had never had the highest opinion in the world of Selkies, but nonetheless, there was no reason to be treating him with such contempt. However, he brushed off the slight, and said, "Well, you ought to know how to fight well enough, but a few reminders could never hurt."

Cloud opened his mouth to accept the offer gratefully, but was cut off by Sephiroth saying, "We appreciate the offer, but we can fight well enough for ourselves."

Cloud shot Sephiroth a death glare. _There he goes again, taking charge. __Some__ of us-_ his thoughts drifted to sweet, peaceful Aerith- _might have __needed__ that training._

When they moved to continue down the road, after bidding farewell to the Alfitarian caravan, their positions changed slightly. Vincent was still in the wagon, studying scrolls, Cloud was still leading the papaomus, and Aerith still sat in the back with the crystal chalice, but now Sephiroth had joined them, and was reclining against the wall, trying to think of a plan for when they arrived at the River Belle.

Cloud, still concerned about the brush off Sephiroth had given to the Lilties, decided to voice his worries. "You know, Sephiroth, some of us might have needed that training the Alfitarians were offering back there."

Sephiroth nodded. "Yes, and some of us realize that dealing with meaningless tutorials would slow us down on our first journey. We have a mission to accomplish, and a very finite amount of time in which to accomplish it, so the sooner we get done collecting myrrh, the sooner we can ensure the town remains safe."

"And the sooner we'll have to journey back out again to replenish the crystal." Cloud shot back. "You need to stop making these snap decisions for us, and consult with us before you act. You shouldn't have said something without asking if it was okay with us."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "This is a battlefield, Cloud. In a place like this, you don't have time for every decision to be made diplomatically. You didn't speak up back there, so I assumed you were fine with my decision. If you had a problem, why didn't you say anything?"

Cloud yanked on the reins of the papaomus, forcing the creature to stop abruptly. "Because you didn't give me the chance to say anything. Allowing other people's opinions to be heard is part of a little something called respect, not that I'd expect someone like you to understand what that term means-"

Aerith's emerald eyes widened, and Vincent looked up from his studies. Sephiroth's earlier remark had been somewhat condescending, but at least it didn't have the racist undertone Cloud's remark possessed. The implicit bias did not slip past the Selkie, as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde Clavat.

"And what, exactly, do you mean by that?" Sephiroth queried defensively, his voice lowered to a dangerous hiss.

Cloud merely shrugged. "Figure it out yourself. It shouldn't be too hard, given the gift your kind has for cunning."

Sephiroth's fists clenched, and Aerith let out a tiny gasp. Vincent started rolling up his scrolls, saying, "Let's not fight, children."

The raven haired Clavat's words were completely lost in the void of hatred hanging between Cloud and Sephiroth. Aerith looked back and forth between the two, frightened of what was happening within her own caravan. If they kept up like this, the monsters wouldn't even need to destroy the group. They could destroy themselves.

Sephiroth grabbed the young Clavat by the neck of his shirt, and said, "Now you listen to me, you little puppet. I admit that there are those of my kind who take pride in their thieving skills, but not all of us are like that, and I certainly am not like that. And if I hear one more word out of your mouth to the contrary, so help me, I will make you pay. Are we clear?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the silver-haired teen. "So you'll hold me helpless, and then hurt me, right? So typical of you-"

Cloud barely got the word out of his mouth before he found himself flung to the ground outside the wagon. He struggled to get to his feet, and found Sephiroth already standing over him, racket drawn and ready for an attack. Sephiroth raised it, and was about to strike when Aerith jumped out of the wagon, yelling, "Please! No more fighting!"

The two combatants looked quizically at the intruder upon their fight. What on earth was Aerith thinking, trying to stop them?

Aerith blinked back a few tears that were trying to form in her eyes. "Look. Sephiroth said that we have a mission. He was right. We do have a mission that we have to accomplish. And we can't do that if we're at each other's throats all the time! Most of us have hung out since we were children, so can't we just try to be civil to one another? If we can't trust each other, then we're going to be helpless against any monsters that attack. So please… no more fighting…"

The two boys looked at one another, and sighed. Aerith was right. This was inane. They had a job to do, so they needed to, for the moment, put their differences behind them.

Sephiroth cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sorry. I suppose I was being a bit presumptuous earlier in thinking none of us needed the training."

Cloud shook his head. "Don't worry. I should have said something back there. And I definitely crossed the line with that racist comment. You know… you're the only one of us who is a direct descendant of a caravanner, so you should know what you're doing. So… you can do the decision making, but please, try to talk with us first. Truce?"

Cloud held out his hand. Sephiroth took it, and replied, "For the moment."

Vincent, now back to studying his scrolls, rolled his eyes, and muttered, "So much childishness…"

Aerith climbed back into the wagon with a bruised and dirty Cloud in tow. Sephiroth had now taken the reins of the papaomus, and with a 'hyah!' and a sharp snap of the reins, they were back on course for the River Belle path.

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Okay. Next time will be the River Belle Path. We just had our first big fight, so I hope I'm keeping the people in character decently well. It's difficult to write them believeably at a younger age…


	4. Death on the River Belle

Okay, here is another chapter. Lawyers, look to the legalese in the first chapter. As always, reviews would be greatly appreciated.

Chapter Three- Death Along the River Belle

Ever since Sephiroth and Cloud's awkward 'reconciliation', the caravan had been travelling in almost complete silence. Vincent, still poring over his scrolls, was not pleased when the caravan jerked to a sudden halt, causing all his reading materials to fly out of his hands and onto the wagon floor. Aerith choked back a giggle, and moved to help Vincent collect all his scrolls. The raven-haired Clavat shoved them into his knapsack, which he then threw over his back. He jumped down from the wagon, ready to ask Sephiroth the reason for the sudden stop, when he was brought to a halt by Aerith muttering behind him, "You're welcome…"

Vincent sighed. Of course he'd forget to thank someone after they helped him. Growing up in a research-based family that tended to avoid a lot of association with others did not a good social environment make. The only reason he had been so talkative that morning was because he was excited to get started on the journey. Now, he was already starting to get tired of the petty dramas that would plague the caravan on their journey to save the town.

Cloud followed the others out of the wagon and around to the front, where Sephiroth had dismounted the papaomus, and was standing before them.

"You're probably wondering why there was a sudden stop." Sephiroth began. "Well, we have just arrived at the River Belle Path, where we can collect our first drop of myrrh, and I thought we ought to go ahead and get started so we can have the myrrh before nightfall. If, of course, that's all right with all of you."

Vincent shrugged. "It's the closest drop of myrrh to home, so it would be logical to obtain our first drop here."

Aerith nodded. "I say we go in. We need the myrrh, and I don't think anything beyond the Iron Mine Downs will allow us access."

Cloud mimicked Vincent's action. "It doesn't really matter where we go first, but as Vincent said, since it's the closest, we may as well go in."

Sephiroth 'hmm'ed in acknowledgement. "Well, if we're all in agreement…"

"Then let's go in there." Cloud cut him off, starting to enter the path.

"Wait!" Sephiroth called, causing the blonde Clavat to pause in his tracks. "We need to have a plan. We can't just go rushing in there without thinking. That's the quickest way for us to die."

Aerith shifted back and forth nervously. "Ummm… I have a bit of a confession to make. See, I'm not all that good of a fighter. I mean, I know how to use a sword and everything, but I'm… well… I'm not very good at it…"

Cloud walked back to the others, shooting a pointed glare at Sephiroth. _I told you some of us might have needed the training._

Sephiroth looked rightfully abashed, then shifted into a thoughtful expression. "Hmmm… well then, why don't you carry the chalice? If the others of us take the frontlines, you won't have to fight that often, and you can help us with support magic."

Aerith nodded. "That's fine by me."

Sephiroth then turned to Vincent, and asked, "How are your swordfighting skills?"

Vincent shrugged. "I can fight with a sword well enough, but I'd prefer to fight from a distance."

"Then, how well do you understand magic?"

Vincent looked at Sephiroth pointedly, and said, "I'm an alchemist. We study it every day."

Sephiroth nodded. "Then you can handle offensive magic, while Cloud and I take the frontlines."

The young male Clavats nodded in unision, confirming that the Selkic teen's plans were fine by them. Then, with their minds set on a plan, they entered the path.

Sephiroth had made a grave miscalculation. He had thought that if he, Cloud, and Vincent could keep a steady offensive up, the monsters wouldn't even think to go for Aerith. That may have worked on the lower level monsters, the Hedgehog Pies and normal Goblins, but the Goblin Cheiftans were much smarter. The caravan had no way of advancing forward until they defeated the monster clutching the key, and under the Goblin Cheiftans' directions, the normal Goblins were relentlessly attacking Aerith, forcing the other caravanners on the defensive.

"Damn!" the Selkie cursed under his breath as one of the Goblins' blades sliced into his shoulder, leaving a rather impressive gash.

Cloud saw Sephiroth bleeding from his wound, and looked concernedly towards Vincent, who barely seemed to have any energy left to cast a spell, much less fight off the enemies attacking him at close range. However, he had little time for concern, as he had just seen one of the cheiftans headed straight for Aerith, who was trying to cast Cure on Sephiroth.

_This is bad…_ Sephiroth thought, surveying the situation. _If Aerith falls, we're doomed. But if we die, then she's left to fight them off on her own, which she isn't capable of doing…_

He blocked a second sword strike aimed for him, and proceeded to bash the offending goblin's head in with his racket.

_I can't think of a plan with all of this going on… I was careless, and we were ambushed… and for the moment, I see no other option than for us to…_

"Retreat!" the Selkic teen commanded, looking back towards the others.

Cloud's eyes widened, his hair still falling in front of them. "You want us to run?"

"Do you see any other option?" Vincent asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he set the closest goblin to him on ice.

Aerith, weary as she was, could only nod in acceptance of Sephiroth's plan. She picked up the chalice, and led the way down the path back towards the road where they were parked. Sephiroth and Cloud laid a few blows into the goblins as they wandered back to their cheiftans, following closely behind Aerith, careful to stay within the chalice's protection. Once they were safely out of range, they paused for a moment to catch their breath, and Aerith dropped the chalice.

"Th- that was… too close." Aerith panted, plopping down on the ground.

Sephiroth nodded in agreement. "It was careless on my part to assume the monsters didn't have the intellect to attack the group's weakest point-" he noticed Aerith looking apologetic and somewhat wounded, "not that I'm saying your services are not valuable, but nonetheless, you are the easiest target."

As the Selkie was apologizing, Cloud looked around the clearing where they now rested. They were almost back out at the road. But there was one person conspicuously missing from the area…

"Hey, guys?" he began, causing both of the other caravanners to look at him. "Where's Vincent?"

Aerith's eyes widened at the exact moment that Sephiroth's closed. All the color drained away from Sephiroth's face, until his pallor almost matched his hair color.

"Oh no…"

Vincent had gotten lost in the confusion after everyone started running. He hadn't seen that the others had taken the other fork in the road, and now he was on the opposite end of the bridge they had lowered partially when they first entered the path. He was completely out of breath from the physical activity. He knew he shouldn't breathe in the miasma-infused air without the protection of a chalice, but his every cell was screaming for oxygen, so he panted and wheezed, drawing in breath after deep breath of poisonous air. He could feel the miasma merely irritating his lungs at first, but as he started coughing, the polluted oxygen began to burn in his lungs, atrophying the delicate tissues within his body, making each cough hack up not only tainted air, but blood and tissue as well. His vision blurred as his body began shutting down from lack of oxygen, and he finally collapsed on the ground. Beyond that, all was dark.

"We've got to double back for him!" Aerith shouted.

Sephiroth sighed, his head bowed in both sorrow and frustration, silver locks falling in his face. "Aerith, by the time we can reach him, it's very likely that he'll already be dead. And besides, you saw what happened back there. We need a plan before we try again."

Cloud scoffed. "Plan, schman. Last I checked, it was your plans that got us in trouble. Our friend is out there dying, and he needs help. You do what you want, but I'm going back there."

The blond Clavat started walking off, only to be halted by Sephiroth's voice calling out, "Wait!"

He turned back to face the silver-haired teen, and growled, "What?"

"You might actually be on to something there. Perhaps the reason why we were outmatched was because we lacked proper motivation… Now that the fight is personal…"

The lone maiden smiled thoughtfully. "Since it is personal now, we should be able to get through them in no time."

Cloud nodded silently, and started back down the path towards the Goblin Cheiftans. Sephiroth and Aerith followed, the latter once more bearing the crystal chalice. The Selkie turned to the Clavatian maid, and gave her a magicite with a soft, blue glow.

"What is that?" Aerith wondered softly.

"A spare Blizzard magicite. I picked it up while we were running. If I'm remembering correctly, fusing that with a Life spell should grant you Holy, the only offensive White Magic there is. This way, you won't be defenseless." he answered, a faint reassuring smile on his face.

Cloud continued to walk ahead of the group, though he was not oblivious to what was going on back there. He knew Sephiroth was trying to do what was best for the group, and make sure everyone survived, but at the same time, he felt the slightest twinge of jealousy that he couldn't be the one helping Aerith. However, he had little time to be absorbed in his own issues, for as soon as they entered the first gate they had unlocked, the Goblin Cheiftans, aided by a lone goblin lackey, charged for them. Cloud's eyes narrowed, and he charged for the Cheiftans, leaving Sephiroth to protect Aerith and kill the other goblin. The Selkie nodded in understanding of the blond's plan, and leaped gracefully over the monster's first shoddy strike, striking the creature from behind.

Aerith watched the action with wide eyes. Cloud was keeping the Cheiftans distracted from her quite well, cutting into their limbs several times. Sephiroth was also fighting well, skillfully dodging the blows from the goblin, finally managing to completely crush the creature's skull with a vicious final charge. However, just as Sephiroth gained victory over his opponent, it happened. Cloud's blade got stuck in one of the Cheiftans' skin, and he got hit near the ribs with a heavy right slash by the other one, causing him to fall in a bloody heap to the ground. He wasn't dead- just severely injured. Aerith couldn't stand to be helpless, so she did the first thing she could think of to do- she prayed.

_Please… Please, Lady Mio, don't let them die… they have to live, __we__ have to live, so please… please…_

As she prayed, she could feel a sense of power welling up within her. She knew now what she had to do. She utilized her newfound strength, and channeled it into a single spell.

"Holy!"

Divine light struck the two Cheiftans, and wounded as they were, they could not stand up to the blow, so in one fell swoop, Aerith managed to defeat the enemies that had blocked their passage.

Once all parties involved were sure the creatures were dead, Aerith ran over to Cloud, casting a Cure spell on him. His injuries healed, but he still felt a little pain in his ribs. Once she was sure Cloud was okay, she looked over at Sephiroth, and gasped.

"What?" the Selkie asked.

The brown-haired girl pointed at the wound Sephiroth had been sporting since they ran away. "I'm so sorry, Sephiroth! I forgot to heal you! Everything was going so fast, I-! Here. Cure!"

The gash finally sealed itself, and Sephiroth nodded as thanks. "All right. Now. Let's go find Vincent."

Once the trio set off on the other fork in the road, it didn't take them long to wander to the other side of the drawbridge. As soon as they entered the clearing, they could see Vincent. Only, he wasn't looking as lively as they might have hoped.

"Vincent!" Aerith cried out, dropping the chalice, and running for the lifeless body, which now lay within the protective field.

_He's only been away from the chalice at most five minutes… _Sephiroth thought. _Could the miasma… really be this potent?_

The Clavatian maid tried to hold back tears at the sight of the nonresponsive body. She knew she had to heal him, but her hands were shaking. She was scared. Scared of seeing a friend die so quickly, scared she might not be able to help, and scared, perhaps rather stupidly, that if he was dead, she would be blamed. But she pushed aside such childish fears, for now, she had to work.

"Cure." she cast determinedly.

The Clavat's body remained just as still as it had been.

Her eyes widened. Surely, surely he couldn't already be…

"Life!" she shouted, praying that her actions would come to something.

There wasn't even a twitch of a finger from Vincent's body. No sudden intake of breath. No movement. No sign of life.

Emerald eyes blinked back tears at the sight. "Wha-? Why isn't it working? Come on. Come on, Vincent! Life! Phoenix Down! Cure! Life!"

A strong hand gripped the distraught girl's shoulder. She wheeled around, and found Sephiroth looking down at her, his own eyes tinged with pity. "I'm sorry, Aerith… You've done the best you can, but it seems-"

"No. Look." Cloud cut in, pointing at Vincent.

The chest which, moments before, had been still as the grave, now rose and fell shallowly with each breath taken in. The boy's head turned, and he opened his eyes to find the others looking at him.

"Hello." Vincent greeted, his voice sounding far more ragged than it used to.

"You're all right!" Aerith rejoiced.

"What do you remember?" Sephiroth asked. He had to be sure that the boy's mind was still in one piece, considering he had just been dragged out of a premature grave.

Vincent closed his eyes and thought for a minute. "Monsters. Separated. Miasma. Pain. Then nothing, until you showed up."

"Any particular reason why you're 'talking. Like this.'?" Cloud asked.

"Miasma still burning in my throat. Hurts to talk." Vincent answered, placing a hand to his throat for emphasis.

Cloud nodded sympathetically. Sephiroth seemed satisfied with the boy's mental state, so now it was time for an update on his physical condition.

"Can you stand?" he asked.

Vincent nodded. "I think so."

It took him a minute or two- and some help from Aerith- but he was finally able to get to his feet.

"Can you fight?" Sephiroth wondered.

Vincent looked pensieve for a moment. "Maybe… Still a bit weak, but I think so…"

Cloud looked over at the resident healer. Aerith nodded in understanding.

"Cure." she cast, hoping some of the boy's exhaustion would fade away. "Does that feel any better?"

Vincent nodded. "A little. Not so weak anymore. Still hurts to talk, though."

The unofficial team leader sighed. They didn't have time to camp out. They needed to get moving. "Very well, then, Vincent. If you're able to fight, then we need to get moving once more."

Vincent nodded in agreement with the silver-haired teen, trailing behind the others as they left the clearing. He couldn't dare tell them what he'd felt upon returning to the world of the living. Not only would they not believe him, but he would be labeled as a completely crazy person. But he could not hide the truth from himself.

_I'm so disoriented… But… it's the strangest thing… With that first ragged breath, I almost felt as if… I've been through this- being brought back to life- before…_

As always, reviews are much appreciated.


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